There's a town in Japan where over half the residents are actually life-sized dolls

In the tiny town of Nagoro, Japan, 66-year-old Tsukimi Ayano is hard at work creating an incredibly involved arts-and-crafts project.

Propped up around Nagoro are roughly 115 life-sized dolls, each arranged in a different fashion.

Some plough the fields; others wait for the bus. Inside the village schoolhouse, child-sized dolls sit at their desks while a newspaper-stuffed teacher stands at the blackboard.

Ayano's creation is known as "Scarecrow Village." Here's what life is like inside.

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Dolls make up over half of this Japanese town's population

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Dolls make up over half of this Japanese town's population

A general view shows the mountain village of Nagoro on Shikoku Island in southern Japan February 24, 2015. Tsukimi Ayano made her first scarecrow 13 years ago to frighten off birds pecking at seeds in her garden. The life-sized straw doll resembled her father, so she made more. Today, the tiny village of Nagoro in southern Japan is teeming with Ayano's hand-sewn creations, frozen in time for a tableau that captures the motions of everyday life. Nagoro, like many villages in Japan's countryside, has been hit hard by inhabitants flocking to cities for work and leaving mostly pensioners behind. Its greying community is a microcosm of Japan, whose population has been falling for a decade. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (JAPAN - Tags: SOCIETY ENTERTAINMENT)
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Tsukimi Ayano sows an ear onto a scarecrow in her house in the mountain village of Nagoro on Shikoku Island in southern Japan February 24, 2015. Ayano made her first scarecrow 13 years ago to frighten off birds pecking at seeds in her garden. The life-sized straw doll resembled her father, so she made more. Today, the tiny village of Nagoro in southern Japan is teeming with Ayano's hand-sewn creations, frozen in time for a tableau that captures the motions of everyday life. Nagoro, like many villages in Japan's countryside, has been hit hard by inhabitants flocking to cities for work and leaving mostly pensioners behind. Its greying community is a microcosm of Japan, whose population has been falling for a decade. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (JAPAN - Tags: SOCIETY ENTERTAINMENT) PICTURE 28 OF 32 FOR WIDER IMAGE STORY 'THE VILLAGE OF THE SCARECROWS'
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Tsukimi Ayano carries a scarecrow to place it on the road leading into the mountain village of Nagoro on Shikoku Island in southern Japan February 24, 2015. Ayano made her first scarecrow 13 years ago to frighten off birds pecking at seeds in her garden. The life-sized straw doll resembled her father, so she made more. Today, the tiny village of Nagoro in southern Japan is teeming with Ayano's hand-sewn creations, frozen in time for a tableau that captures the motions of everyday life. Nagoro, like many villages in Japan's countryside, has been hit hard by inhabitants flocking to cities for work and leaving mostly pensioners behind. Its greying community is a microcosm of Japan, whose population has been falling for a decade. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (JAPAN - Tags: SOCIETY ENTERTAINMENT) PICTURE 8 OF 32 FOR WIDER IMAGE STORY 'THE VILLAGE OF THE SCARECROWS'
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Tsukimi Ayano arranges a scarecrow, which represents her father, in the mountain village of Nagoro on Shikoku Island in southern Japan February 24, 2015. Ayano made her first scarecrow 13 years ago to frighten off birds pecking at seeds in her garden. The life-sized straw doll resembled her father, so she made more. Today, the tiny village of Nagoro in southern Japan is teeming with Ayano's hand-sewn creations, frozen in time for a tableau that captures the motions of everyday life. Nagoro, like many villages in Japan's countryside, has been hit hard by inhabitants flocking to cities for work and leaving mostly pensioners behind. Its greying community is a microcosm of Japan, whose population has been falling for a decade. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (JAPAN - Tags: SOCIETY ENTERTAINMENT) PICTURE 9 OF 32 FOR WIDER IMAGE STORY 'THE VILLAGE OF THE SCARECROWS'
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A scarecrow is seen outside the house of Tsukimi Ayano in the mountain village of Nagoro on Shikoku Island in southern Japan February 24, 2015. Tsukimi Ayano made her first scarecrow 13 years ago to frighten off birds pecking at seeds in her garden. The life-sized straw doll resembled her father, so she made more. Today, the tiny village of Nagoro in southern Japan is teeming with Ayano's hand-sewn creations, frozen in time for a tableau that captures the motions of everyday life. Nagoro, like many villages in Japan's countryside, has been hit hard by inhabitants flocking to cities for work and leaving mostly pensioners behind. Its greying community is a microcosm of Japan, whose population has been falling for a decade. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (JAPAN - Tags: SOCIETY ENTERTAINMENT) PICTURE 25 OF 32 FOR WIDER IMAGE STORY 'THE VILLAGE OF THE SCARECROWS'
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A scarecrow sits in a field in the village of Nagoro on Shikoku Island in southern Japan February 24, 2015. Tsukimi Ayano made her first scarecrow 13 years ago to frighten off birds pecking at seeds in her garden. The life-sized straw doll resembled her father, so she made more. Today, the tiny village of Nagoro in southern Japan is teeming with Ayano's hand-sewn creations, frozen in time for a tableau that captures the motions of everyday life. Nagoro, like many villages in Japan's countryside, has been hit hard by inhabitants flocking to cities for work and leaving mostly pensioners behind. Its greying community is a microcosm of Japan, whose population has been falling for a decade. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (JAPAN - Tags: SOCIETY ENTERTAINMENT)
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Scarecrows sit in front of a house in the mountain village of Nagoro on Shikoku Island in southern Japan February 24, 2015. Tsukimi Ayano made her first scarecrow 13 years ago to frighten off birds pecking at seeds in her garden. The life-sized straw doll resembled her father, so she made more. Today, the tiny village of Nagoro in southern Japan is teeming with Ayano's hand-sewn creations, frozen in time for a tableau that captures the motions of everyday life. Nagoro, like many villages in Japan's countryside, has been hit hard by inhabitants flocking to cities for work and leaving mostly pensioners behind. Its greying community is a microcosm of Japan, whose population has been falling for a decade. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (JAPAN - Tags: SOCIETY ENTERTAINMENT) PICTURE 13 OF 32 FOR WIDER IMAGE STORY 'THE VILLAGE OF THE SCARECROWS'
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Scarecrows representing former pupils and a teacher sit in a classroom in a closed down school in the village of Nagoro on Shikoku Island in southern Japan February 24, 2015. Tsukimi Ayano made her first scarecrow 13 years ago to frighten off birds pecking at seeds in her garden. The life-sized straw doll resembled her father, so she made more. Today, the tiny village of Nagoro in southern Japan is teeming with Ayano's hand-sewn creations, frozen in time for a tableau that captures the motions of everyday life. Nagoro, like many villages in Japan's countryside, has been hit hard by inhabitants flocking to cities for work and leaving mostly pensioners behind. Its greying community is a microcosm of Japan, whose population has been falling for a decade. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (JAPAN - Tags: SOCIETY ENTERTAINMENT) PICTURE 14 OF 32 FOR WIDER IMAGE STORY 'THE VILLAGE OF THE SCARECROWS'
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Tsukimi Ayano stands in a classroom with scarecrows at a closed down school in the village of Nagoro on Shikoku Island in southern Japan February 24, 2015. Ayano made her first scarecrow 13 years ago to frighten off birds pecking at seeds in her garden. The life-sized straw doll resembled her father, so she made more. Today, the tiny village of Nagoro in southern Japan is teeming with Ayano's hand-sewn creations, frozen in time for a tableau that captures the motions of everyday life. Nagoro, like many villages in Japan's countryside, has been hit hard by inhabitants flocking to cities for work and leaving mostly pensioners behind. Its greying community is a microcosm of Japan, whose population has been falling for a decade. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (JAPAN - Tags: SOCIETY ENTERTAINMENT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) PICTURE 15 OF 32 FOR WIDER IMAGE STORY 'THE VILLAGE OF THE SCARECROWS'
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Tsukimi Ayano arranges a scarecrow at a bus stop in the mountain village of Nagoro on Shikoku Island in southern Japan February 24, 2015. Ayano made her first scarecrow 13 years ago to frighten off birds pecking at seeds in her garden. The life-sized straw doll resembled her father, so she made more. Today, the tiny village of Nagoro in southern Japan is teeming with Ayano's hand-sewn creations, frozen in time for a tableau that captures the motions of everyday life. Nagoro, like many villages in Japan's countryside, has been hit hard by inhabitants flocking to cities for work and leaving mostly pensioners behind. Its greying community is a microcosm of Japan, whose population has been falling for a decade. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (JAPAN - Tags: SOCIETY ENTERTAINMENT) PICTURE 12 OF 32 FOR WIDER IMAGE STORY 'THE VILLAGE OF THE SCARECROWS'
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Scarecrows hold fishing rods in the mountain village of Nagoro on Shikoku Island in southern Japan February 24, 2015. Tsukimi Ayano made her first scarecrow 13 years ago to frighten off birds pecking at seeds in her garden. The life-sized straw doll resembled her father, so she made more. Today, the tiny village of Nagoro in southern Japan is teeming with Ayano's hand-sewn creations, frozen in time for a tableau that captures the motions of everyday life. Nagoro, like many villages in Japan's countryside, has been hit hard by inhabitants flocking to cities for work and leaving mostly pensioners behind. Its greying community is a microcosm of Japan, whose population has been falling for a decade. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (JAPAN - Tags: SOCIETY ENTERTAINMENT) PICTURE 10 OF 32 FOR WIDER IMAGE STORY 'THE VILLAGE OF THE SCARECROWS'
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A woman pushes a wheelbarrow past scarecrows in the mountain village of Nagoro on Shikoku Island in southern Japan February 24, 2015. Tsukimi Ayano made her first scarecrow 13 years ago to frighten off birds pecking at seeds in her garden. The life-sized straw doll resembled her father, so she made more. Today, the tiny village of Nagoro in southern Japan is teeming with Ayano's hand-sewn creations, frozen in time for a tableau that captures the motions of everyday life. Nagoro, like many villages in Japan's countryside, has been hit hard by inhabitants flocking to cities for work and leaving mostly pensioners behind. Its greying community is a microcosm of Japan, whose population has been falling for a decade. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (JAPAN - Tags: SOCIETY ENTERTAINMENT) PICTURE 4 OF 32 FOR WIDER IMAGE STORY 'THE VILLAGE OF THE SCARECROWS'
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A scarecrow is arranged to look as if it is plowing a field in the village of Nagoro on Shikoku Island in southern Japan February 24, 2015. Tsukimi Ayano made her first scarecrow 13 years ago to frighten off birds pecking at seeds in her garden. The life-sized straw doll resembled her father, so she made more. Today, the tiny village of Nagoro in southern Japan is teeming with Ayano's hand-sewn creations, frozen in time for a tableau that captures the motions of everyday life. Nagoro, like many villages in Japan's countryside, has been hit hard by inhabitants flocking to cities for work and leaving mostly pensioners behind. Its greying community is a microcosm of Japan, whose population has been falling for a decade. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (JAPAN - Tags: SOCIETY ENTERTAINMENT) PICTURE 21 OF 32 FOR WIDER IMAGE STORY 'THE VILLAGE OF THE SCARECROWS'
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Tsukimi Ayano serves tea in her house in the village of Nagoro on Shikoku Island in southern Japan February 24, 2015. Ayano made her first scarecrow 13 years ago to frighten off birds pecking at seeds in her garden. The life-sized straw doll resembled her father, so she made more. Today, the tiny village of Nagoro in southern Japan is teeming with Ayano's hand-sewn creations, frozen in time for a tableau that captures the motions of everyday life. Nagoro, like many villages in Japan's countryside, has been hit hard by inhabitants flocking to cities for work and leaving mostly pensioners behind. Its greying community is a microcosm of Japan, whose population has been falling for a decade. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (JAPAN - Tags: SOCIETY ENTERTAINMENT) PICTURE 29 OF 32 FOR WIDER IMAGE STORY 'THE VILLAGE OF THE SCARECROWS'
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Tsukimi Ayano steps out of her house in the village of Nagoro on Shikoku Island in southern Japan February 24, 2015. Ayano made her first scarecrow 13 years ago to frighten off birds pecking at seeds in her garden. The life-sized straw doll resembled her father, so she made more. Today, the tiny village of Nagoro in southern Japan is teeming with Ayano's hand-sewn creations, frozen in time for a tableau that captures the motions of everyday life. Nagoro, like many villages in Japan's countryside, has been hit hard by inhabitants flocking to cities for work and leaving mostly pensioners behind. Its greying community is a microcosm of Japan, whose population has been falling for a decade. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (JAPAN - Tags: SOCIETY ENTERTAINMENT) PICTURE 30 OF 32 FOR WIDER IMAGE STORY 'THE VILLAGE OF THE SCARECROWS'
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Scarecrows are seen at sunset in Nagoro on Shikoku Island in southern Japan February 23, 2015. Tsukimi Ayano made her first scarecrow 13 years ago to frighten off birds pecking at seeds in her garden. The life-sized straw doll resembled her father, so she made more. Today, the tiny village of Nagoro in southern Japan is teeming with Ayano's hand-sewn creations, frozen in time for a tableau that captures the motions of everyday life. Nagoro, like many villages in Japan's countryside, has been hit hard by inhabitants flocking to cities for work and leaving mostly pensioners behind. Its greying community is a microcosm of Japan, whose population has been falling for a decade. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (JAPAN - Tags: SOCIETY ENTERTAINMENT)
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